|
Minutes of the
Special Constitutional Meeting of the Demosthenian Society
June 6, 1996
The meeting was
called to order at 7:03. A motion was made and passed to change the
order of business and begin in Old Business. The floor was open,
and Mr. Stuart rose to explain why this meeting was official,
according to Robert's Rules and the existing Constitution. He
informed the Society that all votes taken under quorum that evening
would be official, and we should treat them as such. Ms.
Spornberger rose next to explain the procedure for the evening,
including the votes necessary to pass the amendments and the need to
maintain quorum.
She also explained
that no major changes were made to the Preamble, and that the new
list of signees to the Constitution will be added as a footnote to
the new Constitution.
The Preamble
amendment was untabled and passed 14-0.
Ms. Spornberger
took the floor to say that the only change to Article One was the
change of Demosthenian Society to DLS, and further noted that these
amendments as presented could be amended from the floor before
voting on them.
Article One was
untabled, and Mr. Van Meter took the floor to disagree with
the previous speaker's interpretation of the Constitution regarding
amendments of constitutional amendments. He noted that amendments
are tabled for a week for a reason, and that any changes to them
after that week would violate the spirit of that notification.
Mr. Pyrdum
rose to disagree with Mr. Van Meter's understanding of the
situation, citing several passages in Robert's Rules that explained
the procedure for amending constitutional amendments and that the
amendment could not be more drastic than that previously presented.
Without much
resolution on this issue, the question was called and Article One
was amended by a vote of 14-0.
Article Two was
untabled, and Ms. Spornberger took the floor to explain the
changes made to it by the committee. The new version was divided
into sections, stated which quarters in which the Society would hold
meetings, discussed Summer Quarter meetings, and included our use of
Robert's Rules, which had been elsewhere in the Constitution.
The question was
called and Article Two was amended by a vote of 12-0.
Mr. Pyrdum
took the floor to explain that there were no major changes to
Article Three, and it was untabled, called, and passed by a vote of
13-0.
Article IV was
untabled and Ms. Spornberger took the floor to explain the
changes made to the Order of Business. She said that several things
had been moved so that they would occur before Programs, since we
had frequently been moving these to better run the meeting. Also,
adjournment procedure was clarified in the new version, and a
recognition of alumni present was added.
Mr. Stuart
rose and objected to leaving the petitioning process after Programs,
since such a change would more completely justify the Constitution
with the way we have done things in recent meetings.
Mr. Pyrdum
addressed the previous suggestion, saying that it would be a more
drastic change and thus such an amendment would be out of order.
Also, he suggested that the long time commitment presented by
petitioning fit better with the other events occurring after
Programs.
Mr. Van Meter
echoed many of the previous speaker's arguments, giving specific
examples of meetings in which it would have been better to have
petitionings after Programs.
The question was
called and passed 11-1.
Article Five was
untabled and presented by Mr. Pyrdum, who addressed the many
changes proposed by the amendment. He spoke about the reasons for
changing leaves of absences to being granted by the Society rather
than the President.
This debate raged
on for several minutes, and due to the vague nature of the Minutes
kept at this time, I will give a general overview of the debate.
Some members were worried about the potential for abuse by the
membership of such a vote, and suggested that under certain
circumstances a majority of members would refuse to grant a leave of
absence in hopes of eliminating a person from the rolls. Others
stated that this would be a membership problem, not a constitutional
one, and that this potential for abuse exists under the current
Constitution to an equal, if not greater extent. Another concern
was the vague language defining a leave of absence as "the duration
of a quarter (or the equivalent of ten weeks)." Speaking against
section 10 were Mr. Stuart, Ms. Sullivan, and Mr. Hortman. Ms.
Spornberger, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Pyrdum, and Mr. Van Meter defended
the existing language. Mr. Hodgins began to speak but then
realized he shouldn't have. Eventually, Section 10 was divided from
the rest of the amendment and tabled, and the remainder of Article
Five passed 10-2.
Article Six was
untabled and Ms. Spornberger explained that very few changes
had been made. The question was called and the amendment passed
11-0.
Article Seven was
untabled and Mr. Pyrdum noted that the point requirements for
President (and all other officers) had been changed to be consistent
with the new "base-1" point system. Also, the requirement for the
President to read Masefield's History of the English
Universities was changed to mandating that he or she read the
section of College Life in the Old South referring to the
debating societies. Also, some minor changes were made to the
Adlatus section, allowing him or her to speak whenever necessary.
The question was called and it passed 11-0.
Article Eight was
untabled and Ms. Spornberger took the floor to note that the
Vice President would appoint both committee chairs and committee
members under the new Constitution. Also, she praised Mr.
Pyrdum's effort in degenderizing the language used throughout
the document. The question was called and the article was amended
11-0.
Article Nine was
untabled and Mr. Pyrdum told us little was changed beyond
some reorganization. The amendment was called and passed 11-0
Article Ten was
untabled and Ms. Spornberger told us there were no real
changes made. It was called and passed 12-0.
Article Eleven was
untabled and Mr. Pyrdum noted that the only change in this
section was the granting of an additional key to the Treasurer to
use when renting out the Hall.
Ms. Sullivan
rose and spoke about her personal desire to pass this amendment,
relating her experience as a past Treasurer.
The question was called and passed 11-0.
Article Twelve was
untabled and Ms. Spornberger said that the only major change
was the addition of two Historian's assistants to aid him or her
with taking pictures, etc. The question was called and passed 12-1.
Article Thirteen
was untabled and Mr. Pyrdum explained the addition of an
extra key to be given to the Sergeant at Arms to open up the Hall to
renters, as this was also his duty. He saw this as a failsafe,
making sure that either the Treasurer or Sgt. At Arms would be
there, with a key, and open up the Hall.
Mr. Van Meter
took the floor to object to this added duty of the Sgt. At Arms.
While he understood the need for renters to be able to get into the
Hall, he thought that it showed a lack of trust in the Society's
officers to give two individuals the same duty and was a confusing
contradiction that would be puzzling to future members.
Section Four
dealing with this duty and the granting of a key to the Sgt. At Arms
was divided and tabled, and the remainder of the Article was passed
12-0.
Article Fourteen
was untabled and Ms. Spornberger rose to note the addition of
a Librarian's address and the separation of the Librarian and
Custodian sections into two Articles. The question was called and
passed 13-0.
Article Fifteen
was untabled and Mr. Pyrdum rose to say that everything was
the same here. The article was passed 13-0.
Article Sixteen
was untabled and Ms. Spornberger said there were absolutely
no changes here. It was passed 11-2.
Article Seventeen
was untabled and Mr. Pyrdum took the floor to note that the
explanation of voting by ball and vase had been moved to traditions,
the method for absentee voting was clarified, and a section was
included to allow those on a leave of absence to run for office for
the quarter following their LOA. The article was passed 12-0.
Article Eighteen
was untabled and Mr. Pyrdum stood to tell the Society that
the Wall of Fame procedure had been moved to Traditions, the duties
for each committee had been reordered to make them more logical, and
the Finance Committee was no longer required to complete a yearly
budget.
Ms. Sullivan
rose to address a problem she saw in the section requiring the
Finance Committee to approve all rentals of the Hall, including the
short notice she had received on several occasions from prospective
renters and the precarious position of renting the Hall in the
University's eyes.
Mr. Van Meter
agreed with Ms. Sullivan's sentiments, and suggested that
this problem possibly be addressed in a separate amendment during
Fall Quarter. However, he stressed that since this section was
unchanged from the old Constitution, it could not be amended tonight
and thus should not be a factor in deciding one's support for the
Article.
Mr. Stuart
rose and agreed with Ms. Sullivan, noting that this problem
regarding our status as caretaker of the Hall had long been in
question. He said that we should always have some sort of approval
system, however, beyond the Treasurer's discretion.
The question was called and passed 12-1.
Article Nineteen
was untabled and Mr. Pyrdum outlined the proposed changes.
The question was called and passed 13-1.
Article Twenty was
untabled. Mr. Pyrdum said that the fine for dereliction of
duty had been omitted unwittingly, but could be reintroduced at a
later time.
Mr. Stuart
rose to object to the excuse of ignorance by a new member when
appealing a fine, but when it was brought to his attention that this
existed in the previous Constitution as well, he withdrew his
objection.
The question was called and passed 13-0.
Article Twenty-One
was untabled and Mr. Pyrdum said that the only change was the
establishment of a rule requiring 3/4 of the full-voting members to
be present for impeachment proceedings to be held. The question was
called and the amendment passed 11-1.
Article Twenty-Two
was untabled. Mr. Pyrdum said there was nothing changed. It
passed 12-0.
Article
Twenty-Three was untabled and Mr. Pyrdum explained that this
section was mostly reworded, with particular emphasis placed on the
fact that no working keys could be passed down. The question was
called and passed 12-1.
Article
Twenty-Four was untabled and Ms. Spornberger took the floor,
noting that the point system had been changed to eliminate fractions
of points, but that all of the awards were still the same in
relation to one another. Also, a point for recruitment was added,
as was a point for serving as a Historian's assistant. The question
was called and passed 13-0.
Article
Twenty-Five was untabled and Ms. Spornberger explained that
the process for checking out a book had been clarified and that the
fine for losing a book was increased. The question was called and
passed 13-0.
Article Twenty-Six
was untabled and Ms. Spornberger told us that no changes had
been made. The question was called and passed 13-0.
Article
Twenty-Seven was untabled and Mr. Pyrdum rose for the last
amendment of the evening. He said that these traditions would be
binding, and that several items, including the oaths, had been moved
here from other Articles. A "sacred book" section was also added
which required certain books to remain separate in the library and
could not be removed. All references to the Memorandum of
Understanding were removed. The question was called and passed
13-0.
After a few brief
"thank-you's" from the chair and the floor, the Society adjourned at
10:50.
Respectfully
submitted on the Sixth of June, 1996,
Ryan J. Van Meter,
Secretary
|
University of Georgia 